Being Well
Choosing an Eating Plan for Your Lifestyle
Season 4 Episode 2 | 26m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
Information and advice on creating an eating plan based on your lifestyle.
R.D. Kristina Adams gives information and advice on creating an eating plan based on your lifestyle.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Being Well is a local public television program presented by WEIU
Being Well
Choosing an Eating Plan for Your Lifestyle
Season 4 Episode 2 | 26m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
R.D. Kristina Adams gives information and advice on creating an eating plan based on your lifestyle.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipComing up on Being Well, dietician Kristina Adams will be here to talk about how to design an plan to fit your lifestyle, from busy moms, frequent travelers, athletes, vegetarians and more.
We'll also discuss diet modifications we should make as we age.
We've got that and more next on Being Well.
[music] >> Lori: I am so happy that Christina Adams from Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Systems has come back to talk about healthy eating plans for everyone, because I think what happens a lot of times, is you know, you hear someone that Oh, I lost a bunch of weight doing this, well, their lifestyle may be a lot different from your lifestyle.
And that's what we are going to talk about today, is some suggestions for different lifestyles.
Because not one thing doesn't work for everybody.
>> Christina: Yep, one size does not fit all, in this case.
>> Lori: Well, let's talk about busy moms.
That's a big population.
What sort of suggestion do you have for the busy moms out there?
>> Christina: Great things for busy [00:00:36.21] and families in general are to have a collection of recipes to draw from.
A lot of times you have your family favorites that you can use, and just kind of rotate those through from week to week, and maybe even have a month of meals that you can rotate with, that way you have a set grocery list, you have set items to make, you kind of know what the schedule is going to be, for meals from day to day, and you can really kind of rotate that out, and even sometimes you can buy in bulk, or cook in bulk, if you will, and use those ingredients for multiple meals, so you may make extra chicken where you have chicken salad, you can have chicken fajitas, you can make a few other items, from those things, so you can make it stretch a little further too, which is economical.
>> Lori: I know I do that when I make chicken, I'll make a couple different chicken breasts, cut them up, and then put them in the freezer and you have them for all sorts of stuff.
>> Christina: Exactly, so you just have to plan ahead, because it does take some time and effort and also incorporate the family sometimes, it's portioning food items out so you can freeze them for later, so that way, if you are on the run, or you are going to be gone and somebody is at home, they can grab one of those out of the freezer, and they can heat it up, and have a quick, you know healthy meal, and not rely on eating out or processed foods.
>> Lori: So, what suggestions do you have for busy moms?
It's probably it's hard for the mom to be on the diet, and the family gets to eat whatever they want, so how do you suggest incorporating, you know, mom's healthy eating into the family, so she is not cooking two different things.
>> Christina: Yeah, and I think it's important, everybody needs to be eating healthy, so hopefully mom's not getting isolated or dad, or anybody else, but just kind of not make too many meals, so you know, if you, maybe mom wants to eat fish instead of chicken, that you know, might be a health option, and maybe you know, the kids would like to try some too, so it may be a way to incorporate some different food items into their diet as well, if mom is eating slightly different.
>> Lori: It shouldn't be "moms on a diet, no one gets anything good."
>> Christina: That's right.
> Lori: Well, let's talk about people who travel a lot.
In the summer my job, I am on the road a lot, and it's tough, you know, what can you eat and drive, drive through fast food, what advice do you have for busy, frequent travelers?
>> Christina: Frequent travelers, depending on what the travel is, sometimes if you are going places and can call ahead and find out what's in a location or just look on the internet and look around and see if there is grocery stores, what kind of restaurants in the area, and just kind of plan accordingly, so you have a little bit of things, choices in mind of what healthy eating you could be making.
And also, just grab and go kind of foods.
Things that travel well, that aren't perishable, that would be good to take with you, or even if you do have a small cooler that you could take with you, if you know you are just going to be in the car all day, and back home at night, you know, tubes of yogurt, and pieces of fruit, vegetables, you know, small container of dip, string cheese, there's lots of little things that you can take along with you that travel well.
>> Lori: And airports have lots of options, not just high calorie ones, there's lots of good things that you can pick up, >> Christina: Yes, and the great thing is, you can still take a lot of food items on the airplane, so you don't have to restrict your food items that you are carrying on, a lot of times my husband kind of freaked out one time when we were traveling, and I had taken some snacks for the plane, and he's like you can't take those, and I'm like no, you can't take fluids, I can take food.
So, I made sure of that, so we were able to have healthy snacks you know, along the way, and not have to rely on the airport.
>> Lori: Um hmm.
What are some really good, nutrient dense, good sorts of to-go foods?
I am thinking like dried fruit is a good one, that's small, but has a lot of >> Christina: There's a great way to make your own, you can buy healthy trail mix, or you can make your own, but a lot of times you can get a good portion of grains and proteins as well, as like you mention, good source of iron from dried fruits, so you can easily pick up some trail mix or create your own, as well, and that would be a great snack you know, along the way.
There's lots of good protein, nutrition bars out there too.
>> Lori: Yeah, and why is it that some of those bars or trail mix that have the different combination of stuff, why are they, they seem to make you feel more full, even though you are not eating a whole bunch of it, versus a whole thing of potato chips?
>> Christina: Well, it's the nutrients dense calories versus empty calories, so you are getting a lot better balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, when you do a blend of those kinds of foods, so your protein bars are kind of balanced to be like that.
Some trail mixes can be balanced to be like that too.
You have to be careful with those.
And just try not, it makes it easy, too, you don't have to worry about combining your foods to figure out what is a good snack.
And so those make it easier, no brainer choice.
>> Lori: Ok, so we've got next on our list, we've got athletes; we've got people that work out a lot, maybe training for a run or something.
You do have to modify your diet, if you are doing a lot of heavy training, not just oh, I'm going to go for a little walk around the block, that means I can eat whatever I want, but what do you recommend for athletes or people who really do work out quite a bit?
>> Christina: The biggest challenge of athletes is sometimes it is the activity, knowing what you are wanting to do, and kind of gauging what eat around that, specifically, if someone is going out for a run, they may not want to have a pre-meal before going out, that going to be liquid based, they may just want to have something more solid.
Because you think about the motion of running, and things moving around, but you know, other activities might be ok, if you had you know like a smoothie or something before a pre-workout, but it's the pre and post meals that you want to be thinking about what you are going to have, so that you are fueling properly both before and after the workout, and hydration is a big thing too.
Those are probably the biggest areas to target.
>> Lori: So, are there certain things you should have more of, before you work out, and after, you know, more protein, less protein, more carbs, I mean, what do you recommend?
>> Christina: A lot of times the pre-meal is more carbohydrates-based, depending on what the activity is, once again, but a lot of times we are kind of burning up the fuel as we are using it, so we want to have those carbohydrates stored there.
And afterwards you want to have a better balance of maybe replenishing the carbohydrates also the electrolyte levels, looking at some of the fluid replacers that are out there, and also some protein too, to help with muscle repair.
>> Lori: Ok. And now, we've got a you know, we are here Charleston, so we've got a large college population, high school population, all students are on the go, whether they are high school students, or college students, and sometimes maybe some late-night eating.
What do you recommend for students?
>> Christina: Yeah, college life is challenging, because there is a lot of you know, I guess, unknown, when you are going to in, when you are going to be eating, so, it is having you know, your pantry, your fridge, well-stocked, and it can be once again, a lot of those grab and go items, but it may be a little bit more of combining that might work for college kids, so, apples and peanut butter, or hummus and vegetables, would be a good combination, where you are getting a vegetable fruit and protein, also the things that you know, you can take with you.
Obviously pieces of fruit, or bags of, you know, small bag of carrots or something can go, travel well, the trail mix, the protein bars we talked about, the tubes of yogurt are really easy and portable to take along as well.
Small cartons of milk, even, if you are a milk drinker.
>> Lori: Ok. Let's talk about people who are on different kinds of diets.
Let's use vegetarians for example.
Good vegetarian diet doesn't mean you eat potato chips, and mashed potatoes, and baked potatoes.
How should vegetarians maintain a well-balanced diet without you know they are not eating meat?
>> Christina: Right, and that's a good point.
The vegetarians, basically if you are wanting to limit your meat sources, you have to find a replacer for those protein foods that you are going to be missing.
So finding a balance of either meat alternatives, which might be soy based products, or utilizing more bean products in your diet, and that can be lots of healthy options out there, and you can modify a lot of meat based entrees to meet your needs, too.
So you can make vegetarian chili, you can do vegetable stir-fry, and use more beans in there, especially the edamame or the soybean pods, are really good sources for that.
>> Lori: I know I was just at the grocery store, and the bean aisle, the canned, there are so many different kinds of beans, so if you don't like one, try something else.
>> Christina: Exactly.
Don't give up that first time.
Use lots of tries.
>> Lori: So, let's talk about vegetarians and beans.
Beans have protein and fiber.
How does that compare, the protein level compare to a piece of chicken for example.
>> Christina: The great thing about beans is they do have the protein and fiber, but it's not a complete protein, I mean, it doesn't have a complete amino acid profile like our animal-based sources do, so all your dairy products, all your meat products are going to have a complete amino acid profile, so what that means for a vegetarian is a little bit of combining, if you are going to choose more bean products.
>> Lori: Ok, combining with what, then?
>> Christina: With the different types of grains and proteins from your beans that are out there, so that you do get that complete amino acid profile, so like a rice and bean kind of dish, would give you a good balance of those amino acids.
>> Lori: Which, that is actually what I had for lunch, before today.
But I did notice, though, I think one of the things though, canned beans I was eating them, they are kind of salty.
Is that, we are going to talk about some of the things, but there is some salt in them.
>> Christina: There is, and that is the challenge of canned vegetables in general, whether it is beans, or not, is there is sodium in the canning process for preservation, so it's an easy fix, of just rinsing it off, you are going to get rid of you know, virtually 50% or more of the sodium.
So, that's an easy way, and it's a lot quicker to still use your canned vegetables, canned beans specifically, versus dried beans.
>> Lori: That does take a little while.
>> Christina: Those take a little longer to cook.
>> Lori: Ok, so we talked about different lifestyles of different people, but there are certainly common foods that we should all have in our diet, and what would you suggest?
>> Christina: At the top of my list are typically fruits and vegetables.
We are just a society; we are not eating produce in general.
So, I always think eat the rainbow.
You know, it's an old adage, you may have heard it before, but just make your plate really colorful, so you want lots of produce, and that can be fresh, frozen, and canned.
I think sometimes we are under the misleading thought that it has to be all fresh foods, but it can be frozen and canned, and even thought we talked about some sodium in canned vegetables, that would be a reason not to have them.
So just getting in more produce in general.
Which you are still aiming for three vegetables, two fruit servings a day.
>> Lori: And those are half cup servings?
>> Christina: Those are, so they are not as much as you think.
You know, to eat a piece of fruit, you may be getting more than one serving, because some of those apples are big.
>> Lori: Oh yeah, they are like this big, the size of a pumpkin.
>> Christina: So, it's not as hard as you think.
>> Lori: Ok, so, fruits and vegetables, what else?
>> Christina: Also more whole grain foods.
There are a lot of processed foods out there, and unfortunately they are found in those convenient foods that once again, as we've been talking about, if you are on the go a lot, and just busy, we may be falling back on those, but trying to really seek out more whole grains or higher fiber foods, which is just switching to something, instead of white rice, switching to brown rice, you know, it's just going to be a lot better nutrient value for us.
>> Lori: Ok, whole grains.
What else?
>> Christina: Also fluids.
I mentioned the athletes, water and hydration but once again, I mean we talked last time about all most 96 gallons of soda being consumed in a year, so we are looking at just you know, empty calories, so just plain old water, just pushing more fluids.
>> Lori: SO just because you are drinking fluids that should be more water, not just 96 ounces, >> Christina: And it can also come in the form of iced tea, or if you like to flavor your water, you can simply just squeeze a lemon in there, some of the flavor packets that are out there, so it doesn't have to be plain water, if you are just not a plain water drinker.
>> Lori: I gave up soda this year; it was really, really hard.
>> Christina: Good for you!
>> Lori: But it is still a challenge, it still speaks to me, at the grocery store, but I have found, my sister and I were talking, she is going to try doing it too, and I said, give it about three months, but it's possible.
But I do feel better.
>> Christina: It is challenging but yeah, you just have to set your mind to it and just take that first step and do it, and it does get easier.
>> Lori: Do you think people sometimes think, we'll its diet soda, it's not the sugary kind, so that's better?
>> Christina: Yeah, I mean you are going to cut calories, and it might be an easy way to wean yourself off pop, if you are drinking regular soda, maybe you switch to diet, and then kind of gradually go without, but you know, there are still concerns with all the artificial sweeteners that are out there, and how much you may be consuming when it comes to diet drinks.
>> Lori: Ok, so we should all have more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fluids, particularly water, what else?
>> Christina: Also, when I think of your protein sources, sometimes we are getting too high a fat protein food, so low-fat dairy and lean meat.
So more fish, more healthy nuts, also looking at low-fat you know, milk choices, dairy, cottage cheese, those kind of things, are good options.
>> Lori: Ok. You talked about whole grains, and a lot of that's become packaging.
Whole grain, can you explain what whole grain means?
>> Christina: Whole grain in essence, means you get the whole grain.
You are not getting any part of it.
>> Lori: So you think of like a piece of wheat.
It's all of it, you are not just getting >> Christina: Exactly.
You are getting the whole kernel, if you want to think of that, so yeah, you are not getting a piece of it, it's not ground up, it's not been changed any, so you are getting the whole thing, so you are going to get fiber, in essence when you do that.
If you get something that says enriched grain, it's been processed, so it's been broken apart, so the fiber typically is gone.
It's been pulverized if you will, it's been ground up, so enriched fibers, or enriched grain, I should say, have been added things back to them.
> Lori: So, the browner the bread, maybe the better?
>> Christina: Not necessarily, >> Lori: Not necessarily?
Ok. >> Christina: That could be coming from color, whether it be molasses that they use, for you know, the ingredient, or if they just actually add food coloring to get the brown color.
So, when >> Lori: So, when, Ok go ahead.
>> Christina: So, when you read a label, don't look at the cover, you want to turn it around and actually look at the ingredients, you want whole grain to be that first ingredient.
> Lori: What about like when you see whole grain very white colored bread.
Is that ok?
>> Christina: There actually is a whole grain white wheat out there, and those would be a higher fiber also.
>> Lori: Ok, so read your labels.
That's what's important.
>> Christina: Especially, turn the label around, I should say, too, because sometimes we buy into the advertisement on the outside of the label, so you really want to look at that ingredient list.
>> Lori: Well, I think I heard, maybe you told me, or someone else said, that the fewer the ingredients, the better.
>> Christina: Exactly.
>> Lori: Less than five?
>> Christina; And if you can pronounce them, is better.
>> Lori: That's true.
IF the names are that long, it's not a good thing.
Are there other nutritional things, because we want to get into women, and hormones in just a bit.
Are there other nutritional things you wanted to address?
>> Christina: I think just you know, I kind of hit on it already, but just being a very good label reader, being cautious about your food choices, and if you have time in the grocery store, take time and read labels, and look at the ingredients, compare products and really kind of be more educated about what you are choosing.
>> Lori: And are you, do you think people are becoming more aware, better label readers, in your practice?
>> Christina: Slowly, we are getting there, and I think it's just learning.
Sometimes we just you know, we buy into that advertising and we think we are getting a healthy choice and we find out later, not so healthy.
>> Lori: So, be a good label reader.
Ok, let's talk, moving on to a subject that a lot of our viewers are interested in, and that's women in our 40's, it seems like you know, one day you could lose weight, but the next day, you have a birthday, and you are done.
Let's talk about the role of hormones in losing weight, and gaining weight.
What's going on, and why is somehow the 40's seem to be the magic number?
>> Christina: Yeah, there is something that happens as we are getting older, but it does seem to revolve around that 40 age, where we start to really lose muscle mass and gain fat at a greater rate, as we are getting older, both men and women alike, it's called sarcopenia, but we as women tend to lose, you know, and gain it differently than men, and obviously men have an advantage, they are starting at a higher muscle mass, so it affects us differently.
About 6 ounces per year, as a rule we are losing and gaining, losing fat, and gaining muscle, I am sorry, that's backwards, >> Lori: Losing muscles, gaining fat.
>> Christina: Yes, >> Lori: A pound of this, thus, the fat, right there.
>> Christina: Yes, so that in itself is one area where it does change our metabolic rate, because the less muscles we carry around, that tends to make the metabolism slower, so that's kind of changing as we are getting older, and also our hormones are changing, because there is that thing out there called menopause.
>> Lori: Yes >> Christina: So estrogen, and progesterone, again we carry around, men do not, so it affects us differently, those are decreasing as we get older too.
Especially around the peri-menopause age, which usually hits 40's, if not, sometimes earlier, but that tends to be the marker.
And that also changes how we store fat, because women are more predisposed to carry fat in our hips and thighs, we start to carry it abdominally, and it's more visceral, which means it's not the pinch an inch kind of fat we are talking about, it's internal, around the organs, >> Lori: And that is not good, > Christina: Yeah, it's more like a toxic fat, if you think of it, because that is what raises our risk for heart disease, cancer, and also insulin resistant, when we are more susceptible to diabetes.
>> Lori: So, is it because we have less of one kind of hormone, is that what's causing this weight gain?
> Christina: Well, it's a decrease in the hormones, in general.
Because those are more protective if you will, the estrogen, progesterone, as far as the fat deposits.
> Lori: Ok, so what can we do?
That's the next question.
What can we do?
>> Christina: Well, the biggest challenge is activity, and also changing how we eat, because how we ate in our 20's and 30's isn't always going to be what we need to continue doing in the 40's and beyond.
But exercise, trying to focus more on resistance training, which as women we are kind of never really looking at resistance training, or weight training as an activity that we do, so it's going to help preserve the muscle mass, if not build muscle which will help to raise our metabolic rate.
>> Lori: Ok, let's address, talk about the role of birth control, and why some women claim to gain a lot of weight.
Tell us about that.
>> Christina: It actually is a fluid weight, and there is a little window I think you mentioned earlier, give it three months, it's kind of the same thing with birth control.
If you try a new birth control, give it a good two to three months, because there is that little window where your body is going through an adjustment period, so you could see weight gain, most of what the research shows is though, is all fluid.
So it gives your body time to adjust and then it should be changing.
You know, shortly thereafter, three months, or so, if you happen to be someone who has more significant weight gain, or it doesn't go away, then you need to talk to your doctor, and change that prescription.
Because there are many different pills out there, so you just may be more susceptible to how one reacts verses another.
>> Lori: Ok.
So, what do we need to do as we get older?
Is there certain, like you should eat 200 less calories, is every decade you get older, or what do you recommend?
>> Christina: There is no rule of thumb, it is just eating less in general, but it is more the quality of food.
We've kind of been talking about eating healthier, but the quality of the food that we are getting, as we get older and knowing that our metabolism is slowing down, we don't need to eat as many calories to keep ourselves at the weight we've been at, or even to lose weight, also looking at less activity as we get older, so just trying to change the tables a little bit if you will, and eat healthier, eat smarter, and be more active in a different way.
>> Lori: And we are losing that muscle mass, which as we've talked about on this show, you know, the more muscle you have, the more calories it takes to keep that muscle going.
So, it's like, yeah, it's like this whole combination of things.
>> Christina: Yeah, and then we kind of question why am I gaining weight now?
Well, sometimes we are not adjusting how we are eating and our activity level as we age, and out body is naturally going to be doing these changes to us, so we have to adjust.
>> Lori: And of course it's different for everybody.
Just because you know your best friend and you are the same age, she can eat this, and you can't, everybody is different.
>> Christina: I have patients who sometimes say I am active all the time, it's not helping.
Well that another area to look at is to change that activity level.
If it's becoming easy to you, that is great.
Your body is efficient, but you need to change it up to make it more challenging.
>> Lori: Well, and I think that is one thing we as women, we get into an exercise routine, and it's, you know, we get comfortable with it, and we are not really like men, we want this to be difficult, we tend to sort of, Oh, this is fun, and nice and you do have to step it up a notch.
>> Christina: Yeah, and routines are great because that you know, you have your schedule, but like I said you have to change that alternatively sometimes, or if you are routine is interrupted, having that backup plan.
>> Lori: Yeah, and the longer you do a certain exercise routine, you know, if you've been going to the same kind of class for years and years, your body is pretty used to it.
Do one new thing and your body will tell you.
>> Christina: And your body is actually like that with food sometimes, too.
If you are a real scheduled eater, your body gets used to having those nutrients, the digestion that is taking place, so sometimes changing your diet up you know, can make a difference, too.
And make the bodywork a little differently > Lori: So, do you recommend your largest meal of the day be breakfast?
>> Christina: Yeah, you want to flip the pyramid, if you will, you want to be able to eat more food earlier in the day, and then taper it off through the day, so we don't want to have that larger meal at the end of the day, which tends to be what happening, patients, you know, that I talk to, are skipping meals through the day, not eating, taking time to really eat healthfully, and then >> Lori: Well, I mean, that's our schedule.
We have the most time to eat at the end of the day.
And that's how a lot of us grew up, with the big supper of potatoes, and vegetables, and meat and all that.
>> Christina: And using it as a way to de-stress.
So, finding other activities and alternatives to do that, instead of turning to food as that comfort.
>> Lori: So, we've just got a few minutes left, let's just talk a little bit about some final advice that you can give people when they are looking at their lifestyles, and what can I do, now it's not all about ok, I am going to be in this diet so I can lose weight.
It's about a healthy eating plan for the rest of your life.
>> Christina: Yeah, it's definitely a lifestyle change, so you have to approach it with that mindset, instead of the quick fix diet, I need to get this weight off now, really focusing on and looking at what is going on in your lifestyle.
Are you eating on the run a lot?
Are you not making time for exercise?
Do you pick up convenience foods?
Are you going through drive-through meals more than you are cooking at home?
You know, how can we make some changes and it doesn't have to be a complete overhaul, but it may be as simple as having mustard on your sandwich, instead of Mayonnaise, you know, saving some calories in different places, that can make a difference.
So, it's baby steps.
You kind of mentioned trying to quit drinking soda, the same thing, you know.
Trying to cut the calories in small places where you can, instead of trying to think, instead of being a meat and potatoes eater, I am going to be all of a sudden a vegetarian one day.
>> Lori: Don't make those drastic changes.
>> Christina: Yeah, those extreme changes tend to be the ones that don't stick and when we throw in the towel pretty quick.
>> Lori: Um Hmm.
All right.
Well, Christina, thanks for coming back on.
She brought the pound of fat, so we could all look at that, yeah; you have to bring this every time, >> Christina: 3,500 calories to lose one of these.
>> Lori: That seems like a lot, but it's possible.
>> Christina: It can be done.
>> Lori: All right, thanks for coming on this show.
>> Christina: You are welcome.
>> Lori: We are happy to have you here.
>> Christina: Thank you.
[music] >> Monica: While growing up, many of us may have heard the phrases, "clean your plate" or "no' you can't have candy."
But how exactly do these parental attitudes towards food affect a child's weight?
Here's Elizabeth Corridan with more.
>> Elizabeth: A new study out of the University of Minnesota has found a lot of parents deny their children certain foods, or force them to clean their plates.
But data has also shown that these practices may be causing weight issues in their kids.
The study found parents who restricted certain foods, such as candy or junk food, were more likely to have overweight or obese children.
And those parents who pressured their children to eat everything at a meal, had youngsters who were not overweight, but did show signs of eating and weight problems later in life Researchers also found dads were more likely than moms to pressure their sons and daughters to eat and adolescent boys were pressured more than adolescent girls.
The data also showed that restricting food from kids was a common practice of both fathers and mothers, in both boys and girls.
Investigators believe that parents should keep an eye on their child's weight and understand good eating practices, instead of worrying about whether their kids clean their plates or have a cookie now and then.
They recommended such practices as eating regular family meals, having nutritious snacks at home, choosing healthy foods and encouraging young people to make better food choices as a way to fight weight problems.
For today's Health Minute, I'm Elizabeth Corridan.
>> Monica: We all know that stress can be bad for us.
Its' a major factor in such conditions as heart problems, diabetes, even infertility.
so how do you know When you are over stressed and what can you do?
Holly Firfer tells us more.
let's face it.
unless you live in a cave, you can't avoid stress.
it's everywhere.
but sometimes, major stressful events such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, can mount up and begin to affect your health.
how can you tell if you are really stressed out?
according to the centers for disease control, these signs could mean you need to step back and deal with your stress.
if you are tense, irritable and it affects your day to day interactions with people.
if you have fear or anxiety about the future.
if you have difficulty making decisions.
if you have frequent nightmares, or sleeplessness or you feel powerless.
doctors will tell you there are things you can do to cut down on your stress.
try to avoid drugs and alcohol.
they make you feel good at the time, but they can be a dangerous crutch.
find support.talk to a friend, counselor, clergy person, even a doctor...because sharing a problem lightens the load.
get out and be with friends.
having fun and laughing can really de-stress a person.
and be good to yourself, that means exercise.
try to get six to eight hours of sleep, eat healthy and always keep your mind active.
it will make you feel a whole lot better.
for today's health minute, i'm holly firfer >> Lori: Being Well is also available on you tube at youtube.com/weiutv.
Just look for the Being Well playlist.
Here you'll find current as well as past episodes.
[music]
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